This blog on Texas education contains posts on accountability, testing, college readiness, dropouts, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues with additional focus at the national level.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

By DIANE RADO / The Dallas Morning News drado@dallasnews.comAs Dallas schools focus on getting all students ready for college, they face a daunting challenge uncovered by a new district tracking system: Almost half of fifth-graders are not even ready for middle school.

Roughly 52 percent of the fifth-graders were considered "on track for middle school" at the end of their elementary years in 2008-09, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of data recently released by the school district.

To be considered ready for middle school, fifth-graders had to pass the state TAKS exams in reading, math and science, and could not fail more than one core academic class, according to the district's formula.

The low "on track" rates at many schools raise a question about how students can become ready for college if they haven't even mastered the basics of elementary school.

"It obviously makes it more of a challenge, there is no question – but it can be done," said Dallas ISD spokesman Jon Dahlander. "We have students who come in the ninth grade who don't speak a word of English, and they have gone on to graduate as valedictorians of their schools and gotten scholarships at some of the top universities."

The on-track rates at 145 elementaries range widely from school to school in all sections of the city, though they generally are higher in northern Dallas schools.

At the district's top magnet schools, more than 90 percent of fifth-graders were considered on track. But at 60 schools across the district, fewer than half of fifth-graders were deemed prepared, the data shows.

Linda Johnson, executive director of the Dallas Education Foundation, said "it's not too late" for fifth-graders who are behind.

"It just means that urban districts have to develop interventions that are going to assist those students," she said.

The foundation managed a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation that helped DISD build an extensive data-tracking system and publish "scorecards" for each school. The reports are posted for parents on the school district's Web site.

The 2008-09 scorecards include data on everything from student test scores to teacher turnover.

The data on fifth-grade readiness is considered unique, making comparisons with other Texas districts difficult. The Texas Education Agency doesn't collect such data, agency officials said. Houston's school district is developing similar scorecards, but has not begun using them yet.

"In the state of Texas, Dallas is very forward-thinking," said Lori Fey, who leads policy efforts for the Dell Foundation. "Dallas has been very progressive in both developing and implementing these kinds of things for the benefit of their constituents."

Dahlander said that the new measure is part of the district's efforts to use data to track student performance and keep parents informed. The overarching goal is to make sure children are college-ready by the time they graduate from high school – and that task starts early.

"You don't just get on the college track in high school. You're really on the college track well before that," Dahlander said.

At William B. Travis Vanguard and Academy for the Academically Talented and Gifted, 97 percent of fifth-graders were considered on track for middle school in 2008-09 – the highest rate in the district.

Principal Mari Smith said that her top-performing students have high test scores and meet other requirements to get admitted. "They are receptive to being taught," she said.

Even so, the school focuses on the quality of teaching and a rigorous curriculum that goes beyond what is required on state achievement tests.

"I will tell you this: We do not emphasize the TAKS test here. We teach the kids," Smith said, referring to the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills used to judge schools under state and federal academic standards. Smith said the school does limited test preparation just before the TAKS is given, and "then we forget it and we go on and teach again."

Having worked in schools that are not filled with gifted students, Smith said she understands the challenges of preparing youngsters who face poverty and other hardships.

"There are so many different variables. They might not know where their mother and daddy are. They might be homeless. Everything else is on their mind, and not learning," Smith said. If students fall behind, teachers have to work that much harder to bring them back to grade level.

S.S. Conner, an elementary school where 95 percent of children are low-income, posted one of the lowest on-track rates in the district, with only 29 percent of fifth-graders considered ready for middle school.

Principal J. Cherie McMillan said passing rates on the state science test appeared to be the problem.

"I'm not real big on hiding something that is factual," McMillan said. "The scores dropped in science. There is no doubt." The school has hired a science coach and taken other measures to increase scores.

Percentages of DISD fifth-graders ready for middle schoolThe Dallas Independent School District collects data on the percentage of fifth-graders considered "on track" for middle school after their elementary years. The measure is based on fifth-grade test performance and grades. Across the district, almost half of fifth-graders in 2008-09 weren't considered ready for middle school. Here are the school-by-school percentages for 145 elementary campuses.